London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Disgruntled leaders reject VIP buses for queen’s funeral and demand the Biden treatment

Disgruntled leaders reject VIP buses for queen’s funeral and demand the Biden treatment

Britain faces backlash over ‘two tier’ travel arrangements to Westminster Abbey for foreign heads of state.

Britain is facing a diplomatic backlash over VIP travel arrangements for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, with multiple world leaders now requesting special permission to skip the proposed ‘park and ride’ scheme and arrive in their official vehicles.

Countries of varying sizes are pushing back against a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) requirement that most foreign heads of state attending the funeral on Monday park their vehicles at a site in west London, and travel to the event at Westminster Abbey on shared coaches provided by the U.K. government.

Diplomats from five countries, including some within the G7 group of most industrialized nations, told POLITICO they want exceptions for their leaders, citing old age or security reasons.

They have been emboldened by remarks from the prime minister’s official spokesman Monday, who told reporters that in some cases the ‘no car’ edict would in fact be “guidance” only, and that “arrangements for leaders, including how they travel, will vary depending on individual circumstances.”

The travel protocol, sent to overseas embassies at the weekend and obtained by POLITICO, would not apply to leaders such as U.S. President Joe Biden, a U.K. government source later confirmed to the Times. Biden is expected to arrive at the funeral in his armored limousine, often referred to as ‘The Beast.’ Other leaders with specific security requirements, such as President Isaac Herzog of Israel, could also be allowed to bring their own transport, the same U.K. source said.

But overseas diplomats based in London are unimpressed with the two-tier system, and are now clamoring to ensure their own heads of state get the same treatment as Biden and avoid what — for some — is the perceived indignity of arriving on a bus with ‘lesser’ nations.

“I am trying to have ours exempted from the bus,” one U.K.-based ambassador admitted, “but not having much luck so far.”

Diplomats say the FCDO has not explained the criteria by which certain leaders will be allowed to skip the shared bus journey from London’s West End. Envoys are approaching the department directly to request exceptions, but few, if any, have received a formal response.

“Our president is happy to go by bus if told so, but he’s over 80, so if there’s a way to avoid it, we will try,” another senior diplomat said.

“Considerable anxiety” also exists among leaders about the possible identity of their fellow passengers upon the shared VIP coaches, a third diplomat warned. The FCDO held a briefing Tuesday with representatives from all countries planning to send leaders to the funeral, but was unable to explain how the coach seating plans will be decided.

Another ambassador said the FCDO briefing was welcome but had raised “more questions than answers,” adding: “FCDO told us not to have many expectations, not to be too ambitious, and expect different problems. The logistical challenge is huge … They’re trying to convince us to take the buses, saying it’s much easier to manage everything.”

Some foreign diplomats are at least familiar with shared coach arrangements from previous mass events organized by the U.K., including the U.N. COP26 climate summit in Glasgow last year, and the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations at St Paul’s Cathedral.

But a third ambassador, representing a European country whose leader does not object to taking the bus, said some heads of state not used to shared coach travel will see the plan as a challenge to their “masculinity” — and that persuading them to accept the FCDO’s arrangements will be no easy task.

“If you don’t know your head of state well, or whether they’d accept these things, it can be very difficult for the ambassadors,” the envoy said. “And it’s very difficult for the FCDO — because where do you draw the line?”

Comments

Sid 3 year ago
Might be good if Israel and some Arab states just shared a Uber

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
×